No Pain No Gain
by Wrendragongirl
Summary: His children. Each of them hurt on the inside, like him. Each of them with their demon. Each of them still alive. And while he knew that it would hurt forever, he also knew that without pain there was no gain. They wouldn't have gained a family.
1. Chapter 1

It had been five days. Five days since he had watched them bleed; since he had reached for the fragile beating of a human heart and felt only the coppery heat of blood. Five days since the police dragged them away.

And here he was, standing in the rain. The pearls clenched in his hand were a promise; a pearly whiteness tinted crimson promise he made watching them die. And nothing would stop the winged creature pounding in his chest to get out.

Not even the parents he had died for.

* * *

Dick stood in the rain, not caring or feeling. Only pain, hurt, and longing for what was no longer his; the warmth that came with feeling loved and cared for. He hadn't felt the warmth of his parents for a week, but it felt like an eternity. The boy would never see them again.

He had reached for them as they fell, but they were too far away. Unreachable. And the boy thought that his heart was now unreachable, but in a different way.

Away, drifting on the wind. A heart waiting for purpose and vengeance.

And only when the purpose was found would he let himself cry.


	2. Chapter 2

Barbara had remembered. It was a month now, and with every day it hurt, every day it pounded in her chest. And she couldn't help remembering how, when her parents hugged her, the way their hearts thumped too.

But that was a month ago, and everyone still told her that she would be ok.

She wasn't. It still hurt. But they didn't need to know that.

She was too tired to cry, after running away again. Uncle Jim was nice. He was more father-ish than her father.

But the pain was still there, and she didn't want to run anymore.

She wanted to fight. The helpless girl wasn't as helpless with her wits about her.

Where there's a will, there's a way.

And her will was stronger than steel.

And the way from there was clear.

* * *

Jason kicked a trashcan, scowling. Stupid, no good idiot father… He left his son. Fathers weren't supposed to do that… Right? Mothers weren't supposed to die…Right? Families were supposed to stick together.

His hadn't. But that was fine. Perfectly fine.

But the little boy inside stared confusedly out at the world, still wondering when they would come back. He didn't fully understand, still.

But it was all fine. Everything was fine.

He didn't need them. He didn't need anyone.

Inside, he knew it wasn't fine.

But he didn't need to be getting all weak and sappy on himself.

After all, this was Gotham.

And in Gotham, not being fine was for the weak.


	3. Chapter 3

Cassandra didn't know what to do. For the first time, she didn't know what to do. Her father had her kill someone. And though she didn't know what the word meant, she knew the consequences. And now she didn't know what to do.

It was normal to kill people…right? It was normal and ok and fine. All the people she knew did it.

But it felt…wrong. As wrong as the blood that seeped out through the deadly wound in the stomach. Blood was supposed to stay inside someone.

But it was right to kill someone. That was what her father taught her.

But even though she couldn't speak, she couldn't understand what the painful words and gasps meant, she knew it was wrong.

And now that she had killed him, she didn't know what to do.

It had all gone wrong. Everything was wrong. Cluemaster not leaving clues was unspeakable.

Stephanie knew that what her father did was wrong, but she couldn't stop him. And then when he came back, after all those years, and started crime again, it was harder to disobey him.

The leaves blew by, and the warm breeze chilled her to the bone. It wasn't supposed to be this way. Her father was supposed to come back and be her father, not a criminal.

But here she was. Helping the 'right' side of the law to catch her father.

And now, she wasn't even sure if she was doing this to help the crimefighters she looked up to.

She began to think she was just being a rebellious teen.

But that didn't matter. Her father was now just another man with no morals.

She was just another child without a father.

But it didn't matter. Nothing mattered except breaking free of her fathers shadow.

(Inside, she knew that didn't really matter, either.)


	4. Chapter 4

Tim Drake. Still alone.

Oh, he wasn't an orphan. Not like the others. Not like his friends. His parents were alive, but he was alone.

Always alone.

And on the inside, he didn't understand. He thought that all people were alone like him, that all parents left you and never said words of comfort. His didn't, after all.

And he didn't mind. A part of him felt hurt, like a little kid. The resentful part of him said that he didn't need them. The childish part of him wanted them. The mature part (which was 99.999%) said that he could function without them fine.

And the thing that was his subconscious told him he had grown up too fast.

He was alone, and he didn't care.

After all, he had always wanted to know what it would feel like to be an adult.

* * *

People called him 'Your Highness'. Damian didn't understand why, but he did understand the sarcasm in their voices.

But they didn't matter. They were unimportant.

Everyone was, except his mother and grandfather. At least they treated him like he was.

He always made sure to speak to people like they were inferior. They were, after all. All of them ants compared to him. Even his father.

Especially his father.

But at the same time, he felt tiny. Insignificant. His father was a much better person than him, having the guts to confront Joker and Scarecrow and the pain and fear every night.

Damian was just scared, a scared little boy in the night.

And the mask covered it.


	5. Chapter 5

Bruce still remembered the night. And when he saw Dick Grayson's parents fall from the air, the pain hurt more than it had in years.

And he couldn't let the boy suffer.

When Barbara Gordon confronted him about being Batgirl, he had said no. He hadn't wanted her hitching along for the ride.

And then he saw the pain reflected in her eyes, the pain he saw when he looked in the mirror.

And he couldn't refuse.

As Jason stole the tires on the Batmobile, Bruce inwardly laughed. The kid had spunk.

So, it was no surprise that he let him hitch a ride.

He had always respected Cassandra Cain. She was a excellent fighter, but ruthless. He pitied her as well, for not being allowed to be a child. She was forced to be an adult before she had been a baby.

So when she asked for her second chance, it was impossible to say no.

Stephanie had helped him, and he didn't even know it. She was smart and brave for standing up to her father. Not a lot of people could have done that.

And when she asked, Bruce had thought there was no harm in letting another child on board.

Then there was Timothy. Bruce had to hand it to him, he was brilliant. A genius. But he didn't want the child getting hurt. After all, he didn't want a repeat of Jason's death.

And then he looked in his eyes. The boy was already as hurt as he could be, and refusing was just plain cruel.

By the time Damian came around, Bruce figured that there was no point in not letting him fight the good fight. It was either that or handing him to the league of shadows.

His children. Each of them hurt on the inside, like him. Each of them with their demon (in Damian's case, he was a demon). Each of them still alive. And while he knew that it would hurt forever, he also knew that if it didn't there was no gain. They wouldn't have gained a family.


	6. Chapter 6

**For all you people who wanted another chapter: here it is! If you want me to do more, review. **

* * *

As Bruce Wayne, he was perfectly friendly. A true playboy, not capable of harming a fly.

But as batman... Now, that was a different story.

He was mysterious as outer space, and was one of the most scary people in Gotham. His cape was once said to be made out of a tangle of secrets.

And he never failed to surprise people, as Bruce or Batman. For example, when he took on Dick Grayson. The public was rather surprised when he did, and only a few months later did Batman have a sidekick.  
Then when he tolerated the multiple Batgirls.

When Bruce took on Jason Todd, it was thought of as a scandal. After all, Jason was a rather willful street boy; everyone got over it eventually.

After Jason disappeared, Cassandra Cain and then Timothy Drake joining as Robin made the public do a metaphorical spit take. You'd think that the Bat would learn his lesson already.

When Bruce adopted Tim the public sighed. Not another one.

When Spoiler joined the act with Batman and Robin and Batgirl and Oracle and Nightwing, everyone started wondering how many 'connections' the Batman had.

And then the (not so) final surprise. Finding out that Damian Wayne was Bruce's blood-son was amazing. It was long speculated the mother of his son.

All his children, in a matter of speaking. Red Hood, Nightwing, Red Robin, Robin, Batgirl, Spoiler, Oracle, Black Bat. Then the others, who had lesser connections to the father-like figure that helped them so much.

And then the vanishing act. Gone without a trace; his children leaving to seek their own lives. It took ten years for them to reemerge.

When Batman returned, the public had mixed opinions. He seemed crazier in his old age, and scarier than ever.

Then one more child, one more Robin. And Carrie Kelly could not be deterred from her choice. The public loved her; the brighter, shinier side of the coin. She was gentle and caring, and exuberant; a true bad penny. She never gave up.  
As soon as the Batman 'died', it was the end. The media had a field day over his identity. Everyone speculated what happened to the girl, but no one knew. Some thought she killed herself, others guessed that Wayne had given his fortune to the girl who was like a daughter to him. Of course, everyone thought of her as 'the boy wonder'.

They all hid, from the people they worked to protect. A world gone mad, insane, crazy. And the people were no better.

Until it was time.

And when it came, they all rose like stars to the sky, with Bruce Wayne the peoples'North star, and Carrie Kelly as the sun. (After all, she was the lighter half, and closer to the people.)


	7. Chapter 7

**_Hey people! _**

**_I know all of you wanted another chaper for this, so I'm sorry. But...(drumroll please)... I'M DOING A SEQUEL! :) _**

**_This will acutually be part of a series, starting with Damian. Yes its out of order, but too bad. sorry. The first is called _****_"Insight: Demon Bird, Baby Bird"_****_ as is fitting for our favourite little assasin, and is up. The next is Jason, and I will post it soon. _**

**_Thank you readers, for putting up with my writers' block and reading my fics. I hope you enjoy this series. _**


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